Casting call for UMPI film

    PRESQUE ISLE — Officials with the University of Maine at Presque Isle have announced the college’s support for the second feature film by award-winning filmmakers, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly (“The Way We Get By”).  Gaudet and Pullapilly will kick off their casting calls for “Blue Potato” in Aroostook County at the following locations:
    • Houlton — Friday, July 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Houlton Southside School, 65 South St.;
    • Presque Isle — Saturday, July 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wieden Auditorium, University of Maine at Presque Isle Campus; and
    • Van Buren — Saturday, July 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Van Buren District Secondary School, 169 Main St., Suite 101.
     “Blue Potato” is a coming-of-age drama set during the fall potato harvest in a small northern Maine town near the Canadian border.
    Gaudet and Pullapilly, based in Bar Harbor, directed and produced the Emmy-nominated film, “The Way We Get By” — this documentary, which highlighted the incredible achievements of the Maine Troop Greeters, had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Award. It went on to win an additional 17 festival awards and played in over 60 theaters in the U.S. and internationally. Special events were also held with the filmmakers and the subjects at the White House, Capitol Hill, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
    “We are thrilled to have these three casting calls in Aroostook County. We are excited to see the caliber of talent in the area as well as hope to meet plenty of local members who would like to help out and volunteer on the film production. We plan on making something incredibly special for the state of Maine and need all the help we can get from the community,” said Pullapilly.
    “Blue Potato” will be the first national feature film set in Aroostook County. It will be filmed in Van Buren and surrounding areas during the summer and fall of this year.
    For more information and to confirm attendance at these Aroostook County casting calls visit www.facebook.com/bluepotatomovie.